Pere Guardiola and Ferran Soriano set the return to Primera as an immediate objective | OneFootball

The Girona FC keeps its roadmap intact despite relegation to the Second Division. This was conveyed by the president of the Club's Board of Directors, Pere Guardiola, and the CEO of the City Football Group, Ferran Soriano, during a meeting with sponsors and businesspeople held at Mas Batlle, where both emphasized that the priority remains to consolidate the Club in the long term and return to the top division as soon as possible.

Pere Guardiola highlighted that the Club's strategic decisions are not based on immediate results but on sustained planning. “We make decisions for the medium and long term. From day one, the intention has been to stabilize the Club in the First Division. We believed we had achieved it. But different factors also come into play, such as the history, magnitude, and size of the Club.”

The president of the Board also emphasized that football requires constant improvement and that there are always unpredictable factors. “The greatness of football is this; every day you have to improve, and every day something unexpected can happen.”

In this regard, Guardiola defended the work of the sports management and reiterated full confidence in Quique Cárcel. “Our confidence in Quique Cárcel exists because we see him working every day. Not only the performance he has achieved in recent years, which is excellent, but we also see the great knowledge of the football world that he and his team have.”

Regarding the change on the bench, Guardiola explained the reasons that led the Club to choose Quique Álvarez as the new coach. “We chose Quique as coach because, in addition to the two great years he has had as the reserve team coach, he has proven to be a great group manager and leader. He is a very prudent person who also knows where the limits are and makes them clear from the beginning without making a fuss. Therefore, he knows the people in the Club well, and he has a great football connection with the sports director.”

Guardiola made it clear that the decision was made exclusively based on sporting criteria. “The choice of Quique Álvarez was made solely on a football level, without considering the name. We believe that he, with everyone's help, can do it.”

For his part, Ferran Soriano insisted that Girona's project is not affected by the relegation. The CEO of the City Football Group recalled the Club's evolution over the last decade and reaffirmed that the goal remains to consolidate it among the elite of Spanish football. “What is the goal with Girona? To consolidate the team in the First Division. That is the goal. And if you look back ten years, you will see that we come from something much worse. Girona was unstable, it didn’t have shareholders who could invest money. And the good thing we have achieved all these years is turning Girona into a real football club, one that exists, is stable, functions, and that we want to always be in the First Division.”

Soriano admitted that losing the category is a setback but assured that it does not alter the Club's planning. “Is relegation to the Second Division a problem? It is because it’s a step back on a path where we would like all steps to be forward, but life isn’t like that. However, this relegation doesn’t change the plans at all.”

The top executive of the City Football Group explained that it is now necessary to adapt the Club's structure to the new competitive reality with the goal of returning to the First Division. “Now we have to readjust, adjust what we do, how we do it, because we want to return to the First Division immediately.”

Finally, Soriano assured that the Club is already working on analyzing the mistakes made during the season to correct them for the future. “We have to accept that this is a game, we’ve lost, and now we have to fight in the Second Division. Just today, we’ve been evaluating what has been done well and what has been done poorly to find the right solutions.”

The Club's president, Delfí Geli, also participated in this meeting with businesspeople, explaining that despite the disappointment of relegation, “we know that solid projects are built in good times and, above all, in the most difficult ones.” The president added—addressing the businesspeople—that “your support is fundamental and gives us strength to face this new season with enthusiasm, ambition, and a strong desire to grow again.”